Unable to delete pattern category that contains zero patterns #84865

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1. andreawetzel

   added

   [Type] BugAn existing feature does not function as intendedAn existing feature does not function as intended

   on Oct 15, 2026
2. Peerapatfc commented on Oct 16, 2026

   

   Peerapatfc

   on Oct 16, 2026

   More actions

   Thanks for the report. I looked at why this happens in current trunk (6b45881), by reading the code only. I have not reproduced it in a running Site Editor.

   Why the empty category can't be deleted

   The Delete action lives in the "Actions" menu on the category's own page, and an empty user category can't reach that page or that menu:

   1. usePatternCategories only keeps categories with a non-zero count ("Filter categories so we only have those containing patterns"), for theme-registered and user-created categories alike: use-pattern-categories.js#L73-L77
   2. CategoryItem renders nothing when count is falsy, so the item is not shown in the sidebar even though the server-side view_list includes empty user categories ('hide_empty' => false): category-item.jsx#L11 and view-config-api.php#L374
   3. PatternsActions looks the category up in the filtered list and only renders the Rename/Delete menu if it is found, so the menu doesn't appear even if you open the category URL directly: actions.jsx#L14-L22

   The "Add category" field in the pattern editor lists all terms of wp_pattern_category, which is why the empty category still shows up there.

   So a user-created category whose last pattern was removed ends up orphaned: it still exists as a term, but nothing in the UI can reach it to rename or delete it.

   Question on the intended UX

   Before anyone writes a fix, which direction would the team prefer?

   • A) Keep empty user-created categories in the Patterns sidebar (e.g. shown with a count of 0) so they can be opened and deleted, while still hiding empty theme/core-registered categories.
   • B) Keep hiding empty categories in the sidebar, but allow deleting a category from somewhere else (for example from the category selector when editing a pattern).
   • C) Remove a user category automatically when its last pattern is removed from it.

   A looks like the smallest change (the hook and CategoryItem need to treat user categories differently from registered ones), but I'm happy to follow whichever direction you prefer. I also noticed the sidebar was recently moved to the view config (#76823) and #82569 touches the same area, so I'd like to avoid conflicting with that work.

   I'm interested in working on this if the direction is agreed.

   🚀React with 🚀1Reacted by Yash Jawale
3. yashjawale commented on Oct 16, 2026

   

   yashjawale

   on Oct 16, 2026

   Last edited by yashjawale

   Contributor

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   Thanks for reporting the issue!

   I was able to reproduce the described issue & judging from the categories getting hidden in Patterns panel. Ideally they should also not show up on Add Category input. So a fix might be needed.

   Peeking at #53287 & the Issues/PRs it links. Can't find any discussion on what the ideal flow should be for empty custom categories.

   But we can have two flows:

   1. Delete the category from db, that way it won't show up in Add category input (we'll also need to redirect user to All patterns category once the last pattern from selected category is deleted, as currently we stay there with a "No results" message from the dataview)
   2. Just remove the pattern entry & keep category as-is like current behavior but then we'll also have to show the empty ones on Patterns page with an option to manually delete the category (option already exists).
4. github-actions

   added

   [Status] In ProgressTracking issues with work in progressTracking issues with work in progress

   on Oct 16, 2026
5. talldan

   added

   [Feature] PatternsA collection of blocks that can be synced (previously reusable blocks) or unsyncedA collection of blocks that can be synced (previously reusable blocks) or unsynced

   on Oct 19, 2026